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Category: arts

Real Art Ways will be screening The Magnificent Seven at 1 p.m. A conversation will follow: “In the 1950′s, the Western got big and the screen got wide. By 1960, classical Hollywood was breaking down. Conversation addresses some of the causes, and some of the relics that hold the Western together – deadlines, static shots, and operatic violence. It also considers the pressure on postwar manhood and the role of Hollywood in global film culture.” General admission: $11.

The McGill Lecture in International Studies features “China and the United Nations” with Ambassador Liu Jieyi, Ambassador of China to the United Nations. This will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the Washington Room of Mather Hall at Trinity College. Free.

Get HYPEd at the Black Bear Saloon, 187 Allyn Street. They say: “Get HYPEd is a casual event that offers an opportunity to network with other young professionals. Join us for Get HYPEd at Black Bear Saloon and make sure to drop a business card for your chance to win a prize! At this Get HYPEd, our Community Involvement Committee is holding a Community Collection for Mercy Housing & Shelter Corporation. Their food pantry needs donations to be successful, and they’ve given us a list of most needed items. You can find the items needed here.” 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Talk & Book Signing: Coney Island 40 Years: Photographer Harvey Stein discusses the work in his book, Coney Island 40 Years. Starts at 6 p.m. at the Wadsworth Atheneum. Free. Arrive from 5-6 p.m. to check out the awesome Coney Island exhibit before the talk.

Take a tour of MakeHartford, Show & Tell about your current project, hang out with the String Thing group. 6-9 p.m. at MakeHartford, 30 Arbor Street.

April 2

First Thursday After Hours: every month the Wadsworth Atheneum hosts a little party. Check out the museum, listen to music, take a tour, and make some art. This is from 5-8 p.m. Admission is $5. At 8, they will be screening Wild, so stick around for that.

Open reception at the Pump House Gallery for Resounding Images: 25th Anniversary of Judy Dworin Performance Project. This starts at 6 p.m. The exhibit runs through May 21. The Pump House Gallery is located in Bushnell Park.

Poet Mark Doty will be reading from his new book Deep Lane as part of the Cardin Series on the University of Hartford campus. This free, public event will take place in Wilde Auditorium at the Harry Jack Gray Center. 6-9 p.m.

Dozens of cloth pieces adorn the walls, hang from the ceiling, or are folded neatly in display cases in the Widener Gallery at Trinity College. This may sound like a standard stroll through the mall, but the textiles are all from West Africa, on loan from multiple collections.

The items on display are woven, stamped, appliqued, and resist-dyed textiles, made from cotton, rayon, and wool. One tunic is also composed of goat skin and colobus monkey fur.

A man’s smock, from Cameroon, combines woven fiber with human hair. The ceremonial garment would have been worn at funerals for VIPs.

Wrappers and blankets vary from colorful, to subdued, to simply indigo and white.

The It’s a Wrap exhibit hasn’t wrapped up yet– you have until March 14, 2015 to view the textiles in the Austin Arts Center.

Each month we collect and search for events happening in Hartford, but there comes a time when a relationship feels like the give and take is not balanced. So, we decided for February to only publish events that were sent in. If this list looks sparse, that is why. It shows how much is sought out, rather than submitted.

If you want your organization’s events posted in the future, send them to realhartford@gmail.com by the 25th of each month. For instance, if you have an event in March, get that info to us by February 25.

Feb 1

The Other Son screens at the Wadsworth Atheneum today at 2. This film, presented with Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding, Inc., is about two men — one Israeli, one Palestinian — who were accidentally switched at birth. $9 general admission.

The Hartford Jazz Society, WWUH 91.3FM, and Hartford Public Library present another afternoon of music. The Baby Grand Jazz series is sponsored by the Charles H. Kaman Charitable Foundation. What this means? You can show up at the Hartford Public Library at 3 today and enjoy an hour of music by Jolie Rocke Brown without any admission fee. Show up early to claim your seat.

Our Balls Are Inflated at the Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective. Doors open at 6p.m. This is a community viewing of the Super Bowl. They say, “Not a football fan? Come anyway. Watch Idina Menzel perform the National Anthem, John Legend will sing and Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz do the half time show, and of course, all those commercials that people will be talking about for days afterwards.” There will be some snacks and soda provided. Visitors are welcome to bring own food/drink, but no alcoholic beverages. The HGLHC is located at 1841 Broad Street. Continue reading 'February 2015 Events'»

Free admission to the Connecticut Historical Society today, 9-5. This is good for all museum galleries, but not the research center. Family programming is planned from 10-1. Artist Robert Charles Hudson will be painting from 10-2. CHS is located at One Elizabeth Street.

January 4

Eli Yamin, along with Lakecia Benjamin, Jennifer Vincent and Craig Haynes will kick off the 2015 Baby Grand Jazz series at the Hartford Public Library, 3-4 p.m. This is free and open to the public. Get there early if you want a seat!

Getting a snack at the Kitchen Cafe at the Hartford Public Library? Show your library card during December and get a 10% discount.

Small Business Taxes: Local, State, and Federal. Is it something you want to do? Probably not. Is it something you need if you are running your own business? 6-8 p.m. Free workshop. University of Hartford’s Entrepreneurial Center, 1265 Asylum Avenue.

Want to learn to solder? MakeHartford is hosting another intro class. They say: “Participants will learn to solder electronic components to a printed circuit board while assembling and testing a small electronic project kit. The finished project is useful for the further study of electronics and is the participant’s to keep. Instruction will include workbench safety. All tools and materials will be provided. Eye protection is required. Safety glasses are available for an additional $4.00.” There are no prerequisites. “Materials provided: Commercially available kit containing printed circuit board and all necessary components. Solder. Liquid rosin flux. MH will also provide tools for each student (soldering iron and stand with sponge, needle nose pliers, diagonal cutters). Magnifying lens, “wall wart” power supply, and voltmeter for testing, these latter to be shared.” This $35 class is for teens and adults, 6:30-9 p.m. Confirm attendance and pay at door. MakeHartford is located at 30 Arbor Street, #B7.

Asylum Hill Congregation Church is holding a Service of Healing and Remembrance, in acknowledgement that it is especially difficult for those in mourning to experience the Christian holiday season. 7-8 p.m. AHCC is at 814 Asylum Avenue.

The Connecticut Fair Housing Center is putting together a Renter’s Guide for Greater Hartford. They say this is ” to help low-income and very-low-income households and individuals address fair housing and mobility issues. The guide will focus on low-income and very-low-income individuals but should also have broad enough appeal to apply to anyone who is looking to move. We believe that addressing community issues requires the help and input of community members, particularly those who are affected and could benefit from such information. For that reason we are hosting a meeting (dinner provided) at Hartford Public Library from 5:30pm-7:30pm where we are inviting community members to come and give us their input and feedback on the project.” An r.s.v.p. is requested but not required. They want to ensure there will be enough food for everyone in attendance. Contact caleman@ctfairhousing.org or call (860) 263-0728. Let him know if child care will be required.

Board of Education Workshop Meeting begins at the Milner School (104 Vine) at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to come listen, but there is no public comment during workshop sessions.

CTfastrak (New Britain-to-Hartford busway) is holding a series of open houses so that potential riders can plan their trips and buy tickets. There will be some sort of hands-on demonstration. This first one is from 6-8 p.m. at the Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street.

Real Art Ways hosts its monthly Real Board Games: They provide the games (but you can also bring your own), you just show up. 6 p.m. until closing. Free.

Happy, Healthy Holiday Shinding: monthly healthy food meetup at ArtSpace, 555 Asylum. Bring a dish that can serve seven others. List all ingredients on a notecard (important so that people with allergies and sensitivities know what to eat or avoid). Bring own plate, utensils, and so forth. Free parking behind ArtSpace for those participating in this event. 6:30-8 p.m. Meet in the gallery space.

The Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board, Hartford Hillel and Muslim Student Organization are sponsoring tonight’s Muslim-Christian-Jewish Songfest and Poetry Evening. This event is free and open to the public. It will take place in Auerbach Auditorium of Hillyer Hall (H125) at the University of Hartford, 6:30-9.

This event is just over the line into West Hartford –> 92Y Talks – “Global Muckraking: 100 years of journalism from around the world”: Watch this live broadcast at Congregation Beth Israel. They say: “Columbia professor and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Joseph E. Stiglitz talks to Anya Schiffrin, editor of Global Muckraking: 100 Years of Investigative Journalism From Around the World, about a wide range of global issues from economics to journalism to politics. Selected by today’s leading journalists, the book collects gems of muckraking journalism from Britain to Burma. Crusading journalists have played a central role in American politics. Muckraking journalism is part and parcel of American democracy. But how many people know about the role that muckraking has played around the world? This groundbreaking new book presents the most important examples of world-changing journalism, spanning one hundred years of history and every continent.” All are welcome. Admission is $5 each. Pre-register to be guaranteed a seat: bethisrael@cbict.org or (860) 236-0580. This begins at 8:15 p.m. CBI is located at 701 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford.

Gutenberg! The Musical! is a high energy, out of control spoof on musicals, with actors wearing numerous hats in rapid fire and at times, nearly simultaneously. Want the number of characters? Ask someone else. I lost count.

This is a scripted and improved, play-within-a-play. It’s historical fiction, with the emphasis on fiction. Don’t show up expecting to learn the truth about Johannes Gutenberg, German inventor of the printing press– beyond those two facts, what you will get is a few hours of hilarious speculation on the man whose inventions gave the Middle Ages a kick in the pants, launching the culture toward the Early Modern Period. Continue reading 'No Typecasting for Sea Tea Improv with Gutenberg!'»